Review: THE RISE AND FALL OF AN AMERICAN SCUMBAG (2017)

After watching Dakota Bailey’s  (AMERICAN ANTICHRIST, THE DARK DAYS OF DEMETRIUS) THE RISE AND FALL OF AN AMERICAN SCUMBAG something occurred to me. This was just the kind of film I would have ordered on VHS from an ad in the print version of the original FILM THREAT back in the day. Grim, nihilistic and very authentically raw and independent.

Telling the interconnected stories of a group of lowlifes including Billy (Darien Fawkes) and his addict girlfriend Candy (Marla Rose). Needing money so the pair can skip town he kills his father. He also robs a dealer to get Candy her fix. To avoid problems He sets her up to be killed by rival dealer Pat (Alaskan Cinder) via her enforcer Johnny (Dakota Bailey). However, Johnny has his own plans for Pat. Add in homeless Vietnam veteran Wheeling Deals (L.B) who is looking to clean up the streets by force if needed and let it all boil over.

THE RISE AND FALL OF AN AMERICAN SCUMBAG is Bailey’s fourth full-length film, (though one can argue if 38 minutes is actually full length), and involves several characters from AMERICAN SCUMBAGS but isn’t a direct sequel and is self-contained. I hadn’t seen the earlier film and I had no trouble following this.

If you’ve lived on the “wrong” side of town you’ll recognize the people and settings of THE RISE AND FALL OF AN AMERICAN SCUMBAG. You’ll also recognize the bleak feeling to their stories. This isn’t a place of happy endings and happily ever after. The final sequence is one of the more shocking things I’ve seen recently and it perfectly fits the tone of the film.

This isn’t a film for the masses. There’s plenty of offensive behavior and its bleak tone and lack of non-scumbag characters will turn off a lot of people. For those who can take it though it’s worth seeing. Just be warned, after seeing this you won’t be able to stop laughing when somebody calls a Tarantino film “gritty”.

THE RISE AND FALL OF AN AMERICAN SCUMBAG and Bailey’s other films are available at https://www.storenvy.com/stores/868254-r-a-productions

Trailer – Very NSFW